Stephen and William Hay, the joint owners of The Carlton Hotel at London Road, are pushing for a casino to ‘enhance’ their hotel, which was recently revamped at a cost of £2 million, including a new conference facility, which opened on Tuesday.

The 350sqm gambling floor would be on a much smaller scale than the recent application lodged by the owner of The Drink, Michel Harper.

Planners threw out his plans earlier this month, when his proposed seven-storey gaming complex was branded “ugly and out of character with the local area”.

The Carlton casino, if approved, would be an integral part of the 72-room hotel, boasting gaming tables and slot machines – and would be open from 11am to 4am, Monday to Saturday.

Mr Hay said: “We have had a vision for a casino in Guildford for years so we waited for the gambling white paper and have now put in a planning application.

“I feel this is a good position for a casino, tucked away within a hotel complex,” he said.

But Mr Hay is putting no immediate pressure on the borough council to make a swift decision – the Government expects a high number of planning applications to be dealt with within eight weeks. Instead, he said they would prefer a “constructive debate” by the planning committee before making a commitment to any gambling establishment.

If planning permission were granted, then the licensing committee would be the next hurdle, as it is anticipated that in 18 months time it will be the sole committee to hand out gaming licenses.

However Mr Hay did warn against too much delay, adding: “The Government is leading the way and soon not having a casino will be like not having a paddling pool in a park. Rather than waiting for neighbouring towns to have a casino we would rather Guildford took the lead.”

In their white paper, the Government proposes that a number of laws relating to the gaming industry be relaxed. Critics fear that the reforms will pave the way for a proliferation of casinos to be opened in high streets and at seaside resorts.

The Hays already have an entertainment license for 500 people but Mr Hay added that they would not expect anywhere near that many people to be using the casino at any one time.

He said: “This is a customer led decision. We often have demand for a casino, and we sometimes lose some of our international customers as they head to London for the casinos.”

A spokesman for the hotel added that their application was in keeping with many similar standard hotels around the world and the development of a casino was a natural progression.

He continued: “As a Guildford family we are totally committed to the town, our priority is to raise its image through responsible management, developing the skills of our workforce and working together as part of the community.”

But protestors are unlikely to take the new application sitting down. Their objections were made abundantly clear before Mr Harper’s casino bid was rejected and a similar campaign is expected. Led by Guildford churches, their argument hinges on casinos being out of character with Guildford and the fear of rising crime rates seen in gambling meccas around the globe.

Paul Endersby, of Harpers Leisure International, wished the project all the best.

He said: “We wish the Carlton Hotel the best of luck with its application and hope it wins more support from the authorities than ours to date. We would, however, point out some considerations to be taken on board in light of the application for change of use and the requested licence extension.

“To avoid a proliferation of casino applications, the Government’s White Paper on deregulation proposes a new model of operation and sets stipulations on the minimum size of gaming floors and their incorporation with other entertainment uses, like bars, night-clubs and live music, to create that big night out experience within a well managed, total leisure environment.

“This will further curtail unsuitable operations that have neither the size nor the quality of facilities to host casino and associated activities.

“Secondly, new facilities must be located within a designated area where consumer movement and late night activity is the norm. We question whether the residential London Road area is to become Guildford’s second leisure quarter based around the new Civic Hall.”